Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburger Tor, and Museums - Sonntag, 23.6.13

Left: Brynnen and Ryan exploring the Holocaust Memorial

Middle: Group Photo in front of the Brandenburger Tor

Right: Sophie standing front of the Reichstag

Like Saturday, we got up and ate our hostel breakfast and made it out the hostel door by 10am. Many of the students learned that I was serious about them having their emergency contact numbers (with mine, Tod's, and the hostel's phone number) and a miniature map. That was their ticket to leave the hostel for the day. We did our classic count-off, "Eins" "Eins" "Zwei" "Zwei" and so on. We traveled on the U2 to Potsdamer Platz and walked over to the Holocaust Memorial.
When we arrived at the memorial, we allowed the students to experience the installation for 45 minutes. The experience was memorable and indescribable to many. We all had different experiences of eerie, confusion, and impact. It was heavy and powerful. Students appreciated the installation, while also critically thinking about the meanings imprinted on the minds of the survivors, victims, and perpetrators of the Holocaust. This experience certainly held for powerful discussions about culture and genocide.
From there, we walked two blocks over to the Brandenburger Tor. There was much construction being dismantled from the previous CSD weekend. On the east side of the Brandenburger Tor, there was a pedestrian zone where many people were walking around taking pictures and posing with the many street performers. There were many different street performers ranging from a bear (the city mascot), an "American" and "Russian soldier befriending each other, "DDR officers" stamping passports with "DDR", and a man making enormous bubbles. One could donate to his little cup and he would help others make enormous bubbles. Lily and Cassandra made bubbles for all to watch, which was very mesmorizing. Even Sam couldn't help himself to chase after them to pop them.
After spending enough time at the Brandenburger Tor, we walked four blocks over to the Reichstag and took pictures. We only spent about 20 minutes taking photos and it was time for lunch.
We started walking back towards Potsdamer Platz to grab some food and realized that our appointment for the Pergamon Museum was sooner than we had planned. We turned back around and hopped on a bus (about 10 stops) towards the Museumsinsel. We arrived to the museum and many of the students were famished and had forgot to grab a snack. We made the decision to enter the museum and our budget allowed us to rent the headphones to walk around the museum. Some students chose to come into the museum for a while and then grab some food outside of the museum (which was a little tricky to find because of the surrounding construction). All students did have the opportunity to view the wonders of the Pergamon Altar and see many of the other exhibits throughout the museum (about 90 minutes). There was an incredible exhibit about the discovery of Uruk (one of the world's first metropolis'). At the end of our time, we met up to move over to two blocks to the Neues Museum.
The Neues Museum was just as beautiful and had an incredible exhibit of Neferiti. We got to see the real bust (3,300 years old)! We chose not to obtain the headsets and spend about 45 minutes viewing the thousands of years of history. It was also not only the exhibits, the museum itself was incredible. It felt like we were walking inside a building. As we were nearing the end of our day at the museums, we were beginning to feel silly. We all met in the courtyard outside the museum and students were released for their free time at 4pm. The weather was warm and students had already made plans to go on their small adventures. I made my way back to the hostel to go meet up with a former employer, for whom I nannied from 1999-2001. I even got to see the 14-year-old kid that I used to take care of as a 3-year-old. It was beautiful.
At the end of the night, all of the students made it back to the hostel and lights out happened at 11:30. This exchange trip continues to get better everyday. It is obvious that all students are getting along with each other and many have found life-long bonds.

Left: Mr. Tod Grobey showing off the famous Pergamon Altar in the Pergamon Museum

Right: Jess and Ryan in the Neues Museum with Queen Nefertiti in the background (in room behind them in glass)

Photos from this Day

CSD and Stasi Prison - Samstag, 22.6.13

Getting ready to go out on our adventure to CSD and the Stasi Prison. 

(Please notice that we are pointing to a shirt designed by Samuel Jeans when he attended Madison High School. Samuel donated $900 to our Indiegogo fundraiser. Thanks Samuel!)

We woke up at 9am and ate our breakfast from St. Christopher's Inn. Breakfast was mostly Brötchen (rolls) with butter and cheese, four different kinds of cereal, coffee and tea, and toast. I disbursed student food money and we made our way to meet at 10am in front of the Volksbühne (theater) across the street from our hostel. There was an installation in the grass in front of the theater, where one could climb the platform and speak into the horn-shaped sculpture and make sounds for the whole square to hear.
As students waited for all to arrive, they played around the sculpture (see above) and we discussed our first adventure travelling through Berlin. Seven students had decided to travel with Myriah and Katinka (an old friend of Myriah, who lives in Berlin) to CSD. CSD is a parade supporting people in the LGBT community and celebrating the diversity of the world. Six students decided to go with Tod to Hohenschönhausen, a former prison from the former Stasi (secret police from East Germany). This prison was also shown in the film "The Lives of Others" (which the students watched in school on Monday).
Everyone that went the CSD parade had a great time. We hung out on the west end of Kurfürstendamm and waited patiently for the parade people watching and getting to know each other. The parade started and all were excited to receive the free items tossed from the floats goofing around dancing to the music. Many of the floats and contingents displayed signs bringing attention to the controversy in Russia. All had a great time and had the opportunity to see some of the sights of Ku'damm before making it back to the hostel at 4pm.
Everyone that went Höhenschonhausen were very affected by their experience at the prison. To the small misfortune, their tour was in German, so teacher Tod was working hard to make sure that he could translate many of the important details. Some of the students described it as "eerie", "powerful", and "intense". After the tour, students took some time to relax and discover some of the areas around the neighborhood of our hostel. All met up back at the hostel at 4pm to be ready to leave for the next adventure at 4:45.
The next adventure was at Rathaus Schöneberg for a discussion about John F. Kennedy put on by the Checkpoint Charlie Stiftung (Foundation). On June 26th 1963, JFK came to West Berlin for many monumental words regarding the relationship between the United States and West Germany. It was the first major speech given by a U.S. president after WWII that was working towards forming a healthy relationship between the two countries. This was the same visit where JFK said his famous line, "Ick bin ine Beerleener" ("Ich bin ein Berliner" aka "I am a jelly donut"). We were invited upon our interest to volunteer for the foundation and had the opportunity to be inside Rathaus Schönberg (where JFK was) and listen to a discussion moderated by Sven Felix Kellerhoff (a journalist from "Die Welt" and "Die Berliner Morgenpost"). He interviewed a man (Harald Karas), who was a journalist during the time that JFK was in Berlin. Also with him was a senator of building and housing with the city of Berlin (Klaus Franke). Lastly, an actress and translator (Anita Lochner), who was the daughter of the translator for JFK. They all spoke for about 90 minutes, while a PowerPoint slide show of images of JFK and the 1960s in West Berlin were shown. We were one of two schools (from the US) invited to listen to the discussion (all in German). The other school was CITADEL in Charleston, South Carolina. It was an honor to be there and all students were both excited and relieved to have a fully scheduled day come to an end.
We made it through our first day in Berlin with many things learned about the history of Berlin, but also the layout of the city. Some students braved taking the subway/street car on their own and made it back to our hostel before curfew (11pm). It was a long day, but these students make everything worth it. This group of young people are really amazing!

After attending the discussion about John F. Kennedy and the relationship between the US and Germany, we took this group photo in front of Rathaus Schöneberg. 

This is the city hall where JFK said his famous, "Ich bin ein Berliner" quote.

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule and Travel to Berlin - Freitag, 21.6.13

           

Left: Nick excited to take photos of the senior prank. 
Right: KWR students jumping around the balloons in the entryway. 

We arrived at our usual time of 9am at Kaiser Wilhelm-und-Ratsgymnasium to start our dance course, but we had the surprise of the big senior prank. It is tradition for the senior class to collaborate to set up their prank the night before (they were gathering last night as we were leaving our farewell party). They are allowed to do any prank, as long as they are willing to clean up the mess. As seen above, we arrived and the entire entryway was packed with balloons. Students of all ages (the school has 5th-12th graders) were jumping around and popping balloons everywhere. As a result of the prank, we were unable to start our dance class  (the hallway where we were practicing was the main way for students to get to classes without having to walk through all of the balloons), so we postponed our dance class and had students perform their skits.

There were about nine different skits and all were very entertaining, silly, and dealt with at least one aspect of understanding  (or misunderstanding) cultural norms (German or American). One group made a skit about the difference in water (mineral, tap, or sparkling); another about the service mentality between both countries; another about speaking another language; and many more. 

After most of the skits were performed, we moved back to the hallway to finish up our dance course. We practiced all of the dances that we learned (discofox, cha cha cha, square, and polka). It was extremely fun and all of the students certainly felt silly, but they had a great time. After our dance class, we returned back to the classroom and finished up the last two skits.

After the skits, Herr Schubert and Frau Buckesfeld distributed pieces of paper in the shape of feet. Some were blue and some were beige. On the beige feet, all students were instructed to write down a "good" experience from their exchange, whether the experience was in the United States or in Germany. One the blue feet, they were supposed to write a "weird" or "interesting" experience from their exchange. Once they wrote down their experiences, they were instructed to share what they wrote and tape it to the white board. 

Herr Schubert and Frau Buckesfeld pointed out that our footsteps and experiences were different, but together we make a wacky dance that would not be easy to follow. They both shared kind words about the exchange and invited Thuy and Emilie up to share a gift with us. They made bracelets for all exchange partners. They painted/wrote the exchange partner names or initials on the bracelets and distributed them to all of the partners (e.g. Ekin and Gunnar had bracelets that said, "Ekin + Gunnar"). They then thanked us teachers and gifted me a box of Lindt chocolates. I was very flattered and thankful. I shared some words of appreciation and excitement in the connections that were made between the students and their exchange culture. 

We excused all students and informed them to meet up at the train station at 3:30pm to say our farewells and take our last pictures together. This allowed them about three hours of free-time to gather their bags and buy any last minute Hannover items.

Left: Skit written by Deborah, Aryan, and Max 
Middle: Josephine and Hailey performing their skit
Right: Madelynn and Aryan showing off their dance moves

 
Left: All students wrote down a "good" experience and "strange" experience from their exchange (in Germany and the US). All quotes (feet) were then taped to the wall to visualize our unique dance. 
Right: All students (German and American) with several of the host parents and younger siblings saying farewells to each other at the train station in Hannover.

Left: The teachers aka GAPP coordinators involved for this amazing exchange between Hannover and Portland! (L to R: Frau Sophie Buckesfeld, Herr Ralf Schubert, Mr. Tod Grobey, and Ms. Myriah Day)

Thanks for making this exchange happen! All activities have been so fun and we are lucky to have been so successful with such an amazing community of host families, schools, and students!

1000 Mal Danke!


After saying our farewell, we boarded our train to Berlin. Our train trip was an hour longer than it was scheduled. About a week before we arrived, Germany had suffered from many floods across the country. As a result, some paths of train tracks did not pass the safety standards for travel. Our train took a detour through Braunschweig and Magdeburg. The time went by quickly as students wrote their thank-you postcards to our sponsors and family members. The excitement and energy among the group was great. Everyone was enthusiastic and thankful to have the opportunity to be on this exchange. As their teacher, I was very proud of all of the work that they did, the kindness that they extended, and the level of maturity and care they took in participating in school and host family activities. I would take this group of students anywhere!

After our slight hour delay, we arrived in Berlin safe and exhausted. We made it to our hostel St. Christopher's Inn in Mitte (U-Bahn Rosa Luxemburg Platz). We went for a brief walk around our neighborhood to move our bodies, but then we were all off to sleep for the beginning of our city adventures in Berlin.

Lily exploring the World Clock at Alexanderplatz (10 minute walk from our hostel)

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule and Farewell Party - Donnerstag, 20.6.13

All students and teachers involved in the "International Friendship" project at KWR

Today's schedule was fairly short at school. We continued the Projekttage and started the day with our fun dance course. At the end of the dancing, we still had a couple of presentations to finish (they did not present last Friday). We had the opportunity to see presentations from Sophie and Hailey, Deborah, and Cassandra. All of the students watching and learning from them gave each one of them individual feedback about what they learned and a question they wanted to ask.
At the end of the presentations, we instructed students to get back into their skit groups and practice their skit for tomorrow's performance. They worked on their skits for about an hour and then school was dismissed.
We met back at school at 6pm to find ourselves caught in a thunder and lightening storm. The rain came down hard (which we don't see very often in Portland). It was amazing, amusing, and over quickly. We (Ralf and I) arranged a classroom to get ready for the potluck and farewell party. Students brought pizza, salads, and delicious treats to enjoy. We all hung out, chatted, and played some soccer on the playground. It was very sweet and relaxing. The farewell party was over by 8pm and many students went on their last downtown adventure with their hosts.
Tomorrow is our last day at KWR. I interviewed a couple of students about their experience at KWR and there is certainly going to be some sadness in leaving behind good friends here in Germany.

Our Farewell Party at KWR in the evening 6-8pm)

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule (Project Days at school) - Mittwoch, 19.6.13

Lily and Deborah having a blast during our dance course

Today was the first of three days of the collaborative project between the German and American students. Through the school student council at Kaiser Wilhelm und-Ratsgymnasium, these project days were organized throughout the entire school. For three days, students participate in a "project" in school, instead of attending regular classes.

Teachers host these projects and any student (grades 5-11, [12th is already done]) can sign up to participate. Some projects involve learning about computer science, soccer, bicycling, theater, and many other activities. Although the American students seemed a bit bummed out that they would not be experiencing as much of the everyday experience at school, they were excited by the opportunity to collaborate with our hosts.

Our project is titled "Internationale Bekannschaft" (International Friendship). Our host teachers organized a dance course for all students to do at the beginning of each day during "Projekttage". It is not uncommon for German teenagers to learn how to dance (ballroom style). Several German students shared that they were taking a dance course or had taken a dance course outside of school. Our dance teacher was a student from KWR (I think) and taught us the "Discofox" and the "Cha Cha Cha". We tried our best and certainly had many awkward and funny moments. The teachers were learning these dances too!

After our dance course, we had a break and then came back together begin work making skits about the differences between American and German culture. We watched a short clip from "Night on Earth" (please be aware of vulgar language). It has an excellent depiction of the silly things that can happen when two people from different cultures meet each other. Then students were put into groups of three and then we gave suggestions about what topics their skit could cover. For example, they could write a skit about the following cultural differences: food, false cognates (e.g. the word "Rock" in German means skirt), service mentality, shaking hands, the differences in water (carbonated and tap), and many more. Most groups had enough time to write a skit, tomorrow they will practice it, and on Friday, they will perform it for our project group. I can already tell that all skits will be amazing! The work that these students have been doing has been quite impressive!

Only two more days here in Hannover. Huge sigh of sadness coming from myself and many students. It will be exciting to be Berlin, but it will be hard to say, "Tschüß" to all of these incredible people.

Disclaimer: 

Please excuse grammatical errors, With this little amount of sleep and the constant "go go go" our our days, this German teacher is struggling to think and produce sentences in English. Tee-Hee!

German and American students brainstorming about "Internationale Bekannschaft" skit

(L to R: Gunnar, Madelynn, Marlon, Max, Brynnen, and Lara)

Photos from this Day

Our trip to Schloß Marienburg (Castle) - Dienstag, 18.6.13

Large group photo at Schloß Marienburg

We made it! The Schloß Marienburg (Sh-loss Ma-reen-boorg) was incredible! We left on the train to Nordstemmen as the group of 15 Americans. We arrived in the small town and one could see the castle from the train station. All of the students were excited as we set foot for our 30-minute hike through the forest. 

We arrived about 30 minutes early (before our tour started). We spent our time lounging around the courtyard, drinking beverages at the cafe, and taking pictures. Unfortunately, you will not find any pictures from inside the castle (no photos allowed). The tour guide gave an hour-long detailed tour of the castle and shared a lot about the history of the kingdom of Hannover. See link about Queen Marie and the fate of the short history of this summer residence for the Queen. 

We were all impressed by the details of the architecture (especially the plans for it), the plethora of the books in the library, the concepts of many of the rooms (i.e. the room for mourning), the stories shared about King George V, and the chapel.

After our tour, we hung out in the castle for about 20 more minutes and then made our way back down through the forest. At one point, we got separated (Madelynn, Nick, and I) from the rest of group, but we found each other again without any panic. We made it back to the small train station, hoping that we would find something to eat from a kiosk or stand. There was nothing to be found (not even a vending machine), so we patiently waited for our train back to Hannover. 

After our train was almost 45 minutes late, we were finally able to get back to Hannover to meet with the host families/siblings. The train ride from Nordstemmen to Hannover was only about 25 minutes long. One could see that the students were tired, but of course, they were onto their next adventures with their host families.

 
Our view of the castle as we hiked up towards it. 

  Model of the original plan for castle (made of cork)

Teacher Myriah, Hannah, and Gunnar with Schloß Marienburg in the background

Photos from this Day

Monday at KWR (very normal day) - Montag, 17.6.13

American students wrapped up in the film, "The Lives of Others" to prepare for history of East Germany while we are in Berlin.

Today was a fairly normal school day at KWR. All students attended classes and some of the host sibling had an exam to complete, so as teachers, we gathered the students into a classroom and watched "The Lives of Others" (a 2006 award-winning German film about the Stasi). This film was very captivating for the students to learn more in depth about the history of the secret police in the German Democratic Republic (GDR aka East Germany). Although the film is fiction, it depicts many of the different consequences that can happen from disagreeing with the government of that era. This film also helped to prepare students to visit the prison at Hohenschönhausen, when we are in Berlin.
At the end of the day, host siblings were patiently waiting to hang out with their guests and go on an adventure around Hannover. We checked with all of the students and they made their way to enjoy the hot weather at Maschsee (around 85 degrees fahrenheit). As I made my way back to my amazing host family's house, I took a little bike detour home and found myself at the Mittellandkanal. The Mittellandkanal goes through the north of Hannover and is directly on bike path to and from school. I stopped to take some photos.

Very interesting boat travelling from Hamburg under one of the many bridges on the "Mittellandkanal" in Hannover

Photos from this day

Friday at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium (Presentations) - Freitag, 14.6.13

Madelynn presenting about an important topic for our collaboration with KWR.

This exciting day at Kaiser Wilhelm und-Ratsgymasium all of the American students shared their presentations with three different English classes. We had to make sure that we would have a classroom that had access to the Internet (not all classes have this) and that we could find a projector. Some students had to present using a USB drive if they had a PowerPoint presentation. Some students used the Internet online tool Prezi to share their presentations (where we needed a good Internet connection).

The following topics, presentations, and class times were shared with the English classes at KWR:

1st Period (Herr Ahrendt)
• Ryan                                   
Transportation in Portland                   
• Brynnen                                                            
Sculpture and Street Art in Portland      
• Lily                                   
Food and Food Carts in Portland                                   

1st-2nd Period (Frau Walter)
• Gunnar & Hannah  
Portland Environmental Movement 
and Bicycling
• Cassandra*
Pacific Crest Community School
• Nick
Fun Things to do in Portland 
• Deborah*
US View of Politics

3rd Period (Frau Dembeck)
• Jess
The Pacific Northwest
• Hailey & Sophie*
Non-profits and the Humane Society
• Sam
Teenage Life in the US
• Madelynn
Energy Consumption in the US and Environmental Solutions

* These presentations were presented again on Thursday, 6/20 due to Internet connectivity issues, lack of time, or absence of student

After each of the presentations, the German students asked a couple of questions and in some classes they wrote down a couple interesting perspectives that they learned from the presentations given by the American students.
After all American students presented, they attended their 4th period class and then the Americans joined class 10d during 5th and 6th period P.E. class. We played Völkerball (see below), which is type of dodge ball played by German youth. All German students admitted to playing this game as a child. It took our students a couple of times to get the rules, but most everyone enjoyed playing and participated. After learning a German game, the American students taught the German students how to play kickball. Most Germans were familiar with baseball, but had not played or heard of kickball. After a couple games, class was over and students began their adventurous weekend with their host families.

German and American students playing a traditional German ball game, Völkerball

Photos from this Day

Our trip to Hamburg - Donnerstag, 13.6.13

Our large group of Americans and Germans waiting for the ferry in Hamburg

On Thursday (6/13/13), we had the opportunity to go to Hamburg with the host siblings. At 9:30am, fifteen Americans and fifteen Germans loaded in a train to Hamburg. We were lucky enough on the way there to get to sit in the same area (we weren't as lucky on our return trip). We arrived at the main train station at 12pm and we ran around for a couple minutes searching for a bathroom. It seemed to be at the other end of the train station and cost 1 Euro to use.
As we convened together again, we, Americans did our count-off, "Eins?", "Eins" (Brynnen and Cassandra), "Zwei?", "Zwei" (Deborah and Lily), "Drei?" "Drei" (Hailey, Sam, Madelynn), "Vier?" "Vier" (Gunnar and Hannah), "Fünf?" "Fünf" (Jess and Sophie), "Sechs?" "Sechs" (Nick and Ryan). It seemed that we were not the only school group travelling around as we saw several other groups walking the streets.
Hamburg is known as one of the first hanseatic cities, which means that it was one of the first cities to trade goods with other cities dating back to the 12th century.
We walked from the train station to the Europa Passage (Oy-rope-ah Pah-sa-zsa), where we briefly saw sophisticated fashion stores and a small violin concert played by about 100 youth ages 6-12. It was very amazing (picture on link)!
Then we made our way to the Altes Rathaus (Ahll-tez Raat-hows) and took several pictures.
Despite our imagination, this building was built in the 1897 and one can see 20 emperor statues on the front of the building.
We took tons of pictures at the Rathaus and then walked on toward the Gedenkkirche St. Nikolai (Geh-denk-keer-keh Saint Nee-ko-lye). This church now serves as a memorial to the bombing of Hamburg during WWII. It was apparently the tallest building in the world from 1874-1876. Today, it is the second tallest building in the Hamburg.
After taking some photos, we kept walking towards our reservation at Miniatur Wunderland (Mini-ah-chur Voo-nda-lahnd). As a group, we had a reservation to enter this incredible display of the coolest miniature models of thousands of places around the world. (It is really worth checking out the link). There were exhibits that were indescribable. The "sun" (lights) even went down and all of the installations adjusted to be working in the "night". There are many photos on our link. One of my personal favorite was the many displays of the same location. Each location was a different time period (i.e. before, during, and after the wall came down). After a short hour and a half with the miniature world, we met up to walk to one of the many ferries to take a tour around the harbor.
The ferry system in Hamburg is another form of their public transportation, travelling from dock to dock around the harbor. The Hamburg port is the third busiest in all of Europe and we  had a chance to see the many boats and different docks. We got out of the ferry at the beach and neighborhood Övelgönne (Eh-vel-geh-nneh). We walked around looking at the interesting houses and view of the harbor. We found ourselves at a cute little cafe called Strandperle (Beach pearl), where they had just enough room for us all to sit. We hung out as a large group and ordered beverages as we relaxed on the beach, watching the boats go by. We started to walk back towards the city center and reunited with Lily, who had not had a chance to catch up with us at the cafe. We got on the ferry and it was looking like getting our train was going to be quite tricky. We still had 3 stops with the ferry and 4 stops with street car and we only had 20 minutes.
We arrived at the platform and our train was running a bit late, so we all ran quickly and half of us got on the train. The doors began to close and the conductor called out that we would not fit. I yelled through the train, "Portlanders! Portlanders! Get off now! We're not taking this one. Schnell! Schnell! Schnell!" All students ran off of the train quickly and again, we counted off and we took a deep breath of relief. We had everyone! Phew!
That meant that we'd catch the next train in 45 minutes. We wandered through the train station and found ourselves something to eat for dinner. We all made it back in time and we were able to get on the next train, but we were separated in three different sections. It was a relaxing ride back to Hannover and all of the students looked thoroughly exhausted. We have had quite a busy couple days! Tomorrow (Friday), students will get to present their presentations in English classes in school. I know that they'll do great! This group of students are just awesome!

Ryan is so excited to be at Miniatur Wunderland!

Photos from this Day

Tour around Hannover - Mittwoch, 12.6.13

Group photo of us inside of the "Neues Rathaus" (new town hall)

Today was a very eventful day! We did tons and tons of walking (probably about 3 miles)! We picked up the students from school after their 2nd period and we went exploring throughout the city following parts of the "Red Thread", going inside  the "Neues Rathaus", and visiting the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We started at the main train station following along and seeing the opera center and moving down to the Aegidien church, which was built around 1347! We stopped in many places along the way taking pictures and sharing stories. Tod has been such a great help in sharing stories with the students. He has a knack for storytelling.
We made it to the new city hall and all of the students were blown away. When I told the students that we'd be going to the top, it looked as though their eyes were going to fall out of their head. They were so excited. We entered the building and we were super lucky that they had just had a time slot open for us to take the elevator the top. We moved quickly up the three flights of stairs to wait for the elevator that moves up, inside the dome. The elevator could only take 5 people at a time, so we broke into three different groups. It moves up the curve of the dome and was certainly tight with five people in it. The floor is curved to compensate for moving up a curve. One could see up, down, and through all walls of the elevator. We were all so brave! It has a beautifully warm day, so it felt good to be up high with the brisk wind, while we enjoyed the incredible views of the entire city. All of the students took pictures and were so excited! It took a while to get back down, because we had to wait for the elevator. We made the decision to cut our tour a little shorter so we could even plenty of time to eat and make it to the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We made our stop on the "Red Thread" at the "Markthalle", where there were many different food vendors. Students were free to roam and grab food from whichever vendor they chose. Tod and I ate some delicious curry for 3.50 Euros! We gave all students 30 minutes to eat and then we made it on our way to the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We arrived via subway/streetcar and we gathered around and I passed out the scavenger hunt photo adventure handouts, which I created all in German (with a vocabulary list in it). Students had the option to participate in the scavenger hunt or have just over an hour of free time. Two teams formed to take tons of pictures (one with three and another with four). They both took it seriously and followed the ridiculous directions (i.e. wave at the statue named, "Amerika", make a "lost" face while in the labyrinth). The weather was sunny and the students had moments to relax and enjoy themselves.
Then we returned back to school and met up with their German host siblings. Tomorrow, we go to Hamburg with host siblings. We will be making a whole day of it. We will leave via train at 9:30am, arrive in Hamburg at 12pm. We will explore many things in Hamburg and then we will leave at 5:30pm. Lots of adventures! The students are certainly holding up well considering we have not even been here 72 hours.

View of one of the gardens at Herrenhäuser Gärten

Photos from this Day

First Day of School at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium - Dienstag, 11.6.13

Madelynn, Nick, Sam, and Hailey walking around school together.

So, today all of the students made it through their first day of school at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium! We snagged them out of their third period class to connect to them and allow them an opportunity to share stories about their first day and ask any questions about language and culture.
Students shared a lot about the invisible culture surrounding their host families. Food was a big topic (Brötchen, Käse, Wurst, Pho, Brot, Marmelade) and of course, the water. "How do I get water without bubbles?" As we encouraged them to continue drinking occasionally, we informed them how to request "stilles Wasser" or "Leitungswasser". We also talked about the wall outlets, door handles, toilets, locks for doors, and their hopes that their German will get better (and it will!). All students reported that they are getting along amazingly with their host families and they are really enjoying being here. At the end of third period, we brought them back to their classrooms and they finished out their school day.
We (co-teacher Tod and I) met with Herr Schubert to finish arranging our plans for the rest of our stay in Hannover.
Then, we had an excellent time at our welcome party at the Salmo family residence. They organized a barbeque with all of the host students and several of the host parents. It was exceptionally kind especially because their exchange student that had not yet arrived, Gunnar. We were still patiently awaiting his arrival when the barbeque started.
About half way through the party, I left with Mr. Salmo and his son Ekin to go pick up Gunnar from the airport. Gunnar's flight went well and he was very excited to have arrived. After being asked about the flight he said, "It was boring." We are all so glad that he made it! As soon as we arrived back at the barbeque, everyone rejoiced and welcomed him by cheering for him. You can see one of the pictures of Gunnar with his host family below.
The barbeque lasted until 10:30pm and it was still so light outside! It seems that the sun stays out until 11pm here! Also, the weather has been so beautiful! We are so lucky!
We are looking forward to tomorrow's adventures!
Keep checking out the photo links, I'll still keep uploading pictures!

Mr. Salmo, Ekin, and Gunnar at the airport less than five minutes after Gunnar retrieved his luggage.

Photos from this Day

We are here! - Sonntag, 9.6.13 - Montag, 10.6.13

On the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt!

14 of the 15 of us made in to Hannover!
After 15 hours of travel, we have arrived in Hannover safely.
We travelled from Portland to Chicago and didn't have the chance to have Gunnar with us (huge sad face). We have missed him, but fortunately, we will be able to connect with him tomorrow or Wednesday.
From Chicago to Frankfurt, students were stunned by the huge plane (two levels) and were excited to practice their German with the flight attendants. Most of us got a little bit of sleep, but a couple didn't sleep at all.
All of the students completed a fun crossword puzzle, which clued them into some facts about German culture and politics.
After we arrived in Frankfurt, our plane was delayed slightly, but we finally arrived in Hannover about an hour late.
Now, everyone is hanging out with their host families, hopefully soaking in the excitement of being here and yes, getting to take a shower.
To see photos, keep checking the Photo tab (upper right-hand) and photos should be uploaded regularly.

Also, please feel free to check out another blog written by Cassandra, one of the students
http://dontsaygift.tumblr.com/

The Wacky Teacher Myriah J. Day and Silly Chaperone Tod Grobey (and ridiculous Jess in the background!)

Photos from this Day

Fundraising Success!

The fundraising has been a huge success!

This has been such an amazing experience! So many awesome people have come to help us in our adventures in getting to Germany.

We have had so much fundraisers and it has certainly paid off, literally (ha ha). 

We are very appreciative and feeling incredibly humbled by everyone's support and contributions. 

Through all of our fundraisers, we have made $5015.40!!!

Through Indiegogo, we made $2117 ($717 beyond our goal); from Beulahland, we made $487; from our YARD SALE, we made $762; from our TEENS work for exchange, we made $810; and we have had over $839 in other donations made at our events!

We are so fortunate that our community has been so incredibly supportive! While we are in Germany, we are looking forward to keeping up with this blog, sending thank you postcards, and continuing our efforts to make amazing connections worldwide to make this exchange program life changing!

Thank you for your support!